4850 ATI winflash fail

[xsever]

Hey everyone,

I was trying to flash my Sapphire 4850 with ATI Winflash. It failed and I restarted ( i know i could have recovered it if I did not restart)

My mobo has two slots and I will have a second pci card ready in a couple of hours. The thing is that whenever I plug the card now, the PC won't even post! If i unplug it and use the integrated graphics, it works. I am trying to flash from DOS, but how can I do it if the computer does not even post when the card is plugged?

Update: If I unplug the PCI power connector, the computer boots but when I try atiflash -i, i get "Adapter not found.

[BrooksyX]

Im guessing you have to have a card plugged into first pci-e slot for it to post. So you should be fine when you get the extra pci-e card and plug it into the first slot. (My mobo wouldn't post either with a card only in the lower pci-e slot)

Also don't run the card without the needed pci-e 6pin power adapter. It won't work with out it no matter what.

[xsever]

Is it okay if that second card is an Nvidia card? I mean I only need it to access ati winflash. What about using the card and a bootable usb drive to flash from atiflash (dos), which is safer?

Thanks,

[BrooksyX]

yeah its fine. Don't boot even boot into windows. Just use winflash in dos, much safer.

For future reference dont use atiwinflash, always do it in dos. Its much safer.

[kenkickr]

the vendor of the 2nd card isn't going to be an issue just as long as you know which card is which(0 is is PCI-E #1 video card, 1 is PCI-E #2 video card). I ALWAYS flash with a bootable USB cause I feel your messing with fire when flashing in a windows environment.

Follow this, http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...g/vidcard/34/5, and you'll be in good hands.

[xsever]

Thanks a lot guys for your help. I already have the bootable USB drive ready! :P

What got me wondering is why shouldn't I be able to use the integrated graphics instead of a second physical card? I guess when a card is plugged into the first slot, the mobo will always set it as priority one.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks,

[BrooksyX]

You should be able to go into the bios and set the motherboard to only use the onboard video. No matter if a video card is plugged in or not.

[xsever]

I looked into it and I was finally able to set the onboard vga as primary. Will try the flash and report back.

Thanks,

[xsever]

I set the onboard graphics as the primary. That allowed the PC to post, and then through a USB drive I was able to load the bios with atiflash.

Thanks a lot everyone for your help.